Displaying laylines

ABSTRACT

Various implementations described herein are directed to displaying laylines. In one implementation, a method may include receiving marine electronics data at a marine electronics device disposed on a vessel. The method may also include receiving a navigational location. The method may further include calculating one or more laylines based on the navigational location and the marine electronics data. The method may additionally include displaying a vessel marker representing the vessel, a compass scale, and the one or more laylines on a display screen of the marine electronics device, where the vessel marker, the compass scale, and the one or more laylines are integrated on the display screen.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/723,167, filed Nov. 6, 2012, titled SAILINGSCREEN, and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to provide background information to facilitatea better understanding of various technologies described herein. As thesection's title implies, this is a discussion of related art. That suchart is related in no way implies that it is prior art. The related artmay or may not be prior art. It should therefore be understood that thestatements in this section are to be read in this light, and not asadmissions of prior art.

Various forms of marine electronics data may be processed and/ordisplayed using a computing device disposed aboard a vessel. In onescenario, the computing device may include a multi-function display(MFD). Marine electronics data displayed using the computing device maybe used to help navigate the vessel, and the data may include, forexample, sonar data, chart data, radar data, or navigation data such aslaylines.

SUMMARY

Described herein are implementations of various technologies fordisplaying laylines. In one implementation, a method may includereceiving marine electronics data at a marine electronics devicedisposed on a vessel. The method may also include receiving anavigational location. The method may further include calculating one ormore laylines based on the navigational location and the marineelectronics data. The method may additionally include displaying avessel marker representing the vessel, a compass scale, and the one ormore laylines on a display screen of the marine electronics device,where the vessel marker, the compass scale, and the one or more laylinesare integrated on the display screen.

In another implementation, a non-transitory computer-readable mediumhaving stored thereon a plurality of computer-executable instructionswhich, when executed by a computer, may cause the computer to receivemarine electronics data at a marine electronics device disposed on avessel. The computer-executable instructions may also cause the computerto receive a navigational location. The computer-executable instructionsmay further cause the computer to calculate one or more laylines basedon the navigational location and the marine electronics data. Thecomputer-executable instructions may additionally cause the computer todisplay a vessel marker representing the vessel, a compass scale, andthe one or more laylines on a display screen of the marine electronicsdevice, where the vessel marker, the compass scale, and the one or morelaylines are integrated on the display screen.

In yet another implementation, an apparatus for displaying marineelectronics navigation data may include one or more processors and adisplay screen configured to display the marine electronics data. Theapparatus may also include memory having a plurality of executableinstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to receive marine electronics data at amarine electronics device disposed on a vessel. The executableinstructions may also cause the one or more processors to receive anavigational location. The executable instructions may further cause theone or more processors to calculate one or more laylines based on thenavigational location and the marine electronics data. The executableinstructions may additionally cause the one or more processors todisplay a vessel marker representing the vessel, a compass scale, andthe one or more laylines on a display screen of the marine electronicsdevice, where the vessel marker, the compass scale, and the one or morelaylines are integrated on the display screen.

The above referenced summary section is provided to introduce aselection of concepts in a simplified form that are further describedbelow in the detailed description section. The summary is not intendedto identify key features or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimedsubject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limitedto implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any partof this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of various techniques will hereafter be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood,however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only the variousimplementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope ofvarious techniques described herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a marine electronics devicehaving a computing system in accordance with implementations of varioustechniques described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a screen of a marineelectronics device in accordance with implementations of varioustechniques described herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a screen of a marineelectronics device in accordance with implementations of varioustechniques described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method in accordance withimplementations of various techniques described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The discussion below is directed to certain specific implementations. Itis to be understood that the discussion below is only for the purpose ofenabling a person with ordinary skill in the art to make and use anysubject matter defined now or later by the patent “claims” found in anyissued patent herein.

It is specifically intended that the claimed invention not be limited tothe implementations and illustrations contained herein, but includemodified forms of those implementations including portions of theimplementations and combinations of elements of differentimplementations as come within the scope of the following claims. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. Nothing in thisapplication is considered critical or essential to the claimed inventionunless explicitly indicated as being “critical” or “essential.”

Reference will now be made in detail to various implementations,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings andfigures. In the following detailed description, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinaryskill in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced withoutthese specific details. In other instances, well-known methods,procedures, components, circuits and networks have not been described indetail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first object or step could betermed a second object or step, and, similarly, a second object or stepcould be termed a first object or step, without departing from the scopeof the invention. The first object or step, and the second object orstep, are both objects or steps, respectively, but they are not to beconsidered the same object or step.

The terminology used in the description of the present disclosure hereinis for the purpose of describing particular implementations only and isnot intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used in thedescription of the present disclosure and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willalso be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to andencompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms“includes,” “including,” “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” dependingon the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [astated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context. As used herein, theterms “up” and “down”; “upper” and “lower”; “upwardly” and downwardly”;“below” and “above”; and other similar terms indicating relativepositions above or below a given point or element may be used inconnection with some implementations of various technologies describedherein.

Various implementations of displaying laylines described herein will nowbe described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1-4.

Marine Electronics Device

A vessel traversing through water may use equipment to assist anoperator of the vessel with navigation and other functions. The vesselmay be a surface water vehicle, a submersible water vehicle, or anyother implementation known to those skilled in the art. In oneimplementation, the equipment may include a marine electronics devicedisposed on board the vessel. The marine electronics device may be anycomputing implementation known to those skilled in the art, including amulti-function display (MFD), as further described below.

Implementations of various technologies described herein may beoperational with numerous general purpose or special purpose computingsystem environments or configurations. Examples of well known computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable foruse with the various technologies described herein include, but are notlimited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptopdevices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set topboxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers,mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include anyof the above systems or devices, and the like.

The various technologies described herein may be implemented in thegeneral context of computer-executable instructions, such as programmodules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc.that performs particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Further, each program module may be implemented in its own way,and all need not be implemented the same way. While program modules mayall execute on a single computing system, it should be appreciated that,in some implementations, program modules may be implemented on separatecomputing systems or devices adapted to communicate with one another. Aprogram module may also be some combination of hardware and softwarewhere particular tasks performed by the program module may be doneeither through hardware, software, or both.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a marine electronics device199 having a computing system 100 in accordance with implementations ofvarious techniques described herein. The marine electronics device 199may be any type of electrical and/or electronics device capable ofprocessing data via the computing system 100. In one implementation, themarine electronics device 199 may be a marine instrument, such that themarine electronics device 199 may use the computing system 100 todisplay and/or process one or more types of marine electronics data,such as chart data, sonar data, structure data, radar data, navigationdata, or any other type known to those skilled in the art. In a furtherimplementation, the marine electronics device 199 may be amulti-function display (MFD), such that the marine electronics device199 may be capable of displaying and/or processing multiple types ofmarine electronics data.

The computing system 100 may be a conventional desktop, a handhelddevice, personal digital assistant, a server computer, electronicdevice/instrument, laptop, tablet, or part of a navigation system,marine electronics, or sonar system. It should be noted, however, thatother computer system configurations may be used. The computing system100 may include a central processing unit (CPU) 130, a system memory126, a graphics processing unit (GPU) 131 and a system bus 128 thatcouples various system components including the system memory 126 to theCPU 130. Although only one CPU 130 is illustrated in FIG. 1, it shouldbe understood that in some implementations the computing system 100 mayinclude more than one CPU 130.

The CPU 130 may include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, aprocessor, a programmable integrated circuit, or a combination thereof.The CPU 130 can comprise an off-the-shelf processor such as a ReducedInstruction Set Computer (RISC), or a Microprocessor without InterlockedPipeline Stages (MIPS) processor, or a combination thereof. The CPU 130may also include a proprietary processor.

The GPU 131 may be a microprocessor specifically designed to manipulateand implement computer graphics. The CPU 130 may offload work to the GPU131. The GPU 131 may have its own graphics memory, and/or may haveaccess to a portion of the system memory 126. As with the CPU 130, theGPU 131 may include one or more processing units, and each processingunit may include one or more cores.

The CPU 130 may provide output data to a GPU 131. The GPU 131 maygenerate graphical user interfaces that present the output data. The GPU131 may also provide objects, such as menus, in the graphical userinterface. A user may provide inputs by interacting with the objects.The GPU 131 may receive the inputs from interaction with the objects andprovide the inputs to the CPU 130. A video adapter 132 may be providedto convert graphical data into signals for a monitor 134. The monitor134 includes a screen 105. The screen 105 can be sensitive to heat ortouching (now collectively referred to as a “touch screen”).

The system bus 128 may be any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and alocal bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way ofexample, and not limitation, such architectures include IndustryStandard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus,Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known asMezzanine bus. The system memory 126 may include a read only memory(ROM) 112 and a random access memory (RAM) 116. A basic input/outputsystem (BIOS) 114, containing the basic routines that help transferinformation between elements within the computing system 100, such asduring start-up, may be stored in the ROM 112.

The computing system 100 may further include a hard disk drive interface136 for reading from and writing to a hard disk 150, a memory cardreader 152 for reading from and writing to a removable memory card 156,and an optical disk drive 154 for reading from and writing to aremovable optical disk 158, such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Thehard disk 150, the memory card reader 152, and the optical disk drive154 may be connected to the system bus 128 by a hard disk driveinterface 136, a memory card reader interface 138, and an optical driveinterface 140, respectively. The drives and their associatedcomputer-readable media may provide nonvolatile storage ofcomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules andother data for the computing system 100.

Although the computing system 100 is described herein as having a harddisk, a removable memory card 156 and a removable optical disk 158, itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the computingsystem 100 may also include other types of computer-readable media thatmay be accessed by a computer. For example, such computer-readable mediamay include computer storage media and communication media. Computerstorage media may include volatile and non-volatile, and removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Computer storage media may furtherinclude RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatiledisks (DVD), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetictape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium which can be used to store the desired information andwhich can be accessed by the computing system 100. Communication mediamay embody computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier waveor other transport mechanism and may include any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” may mean a signal that has oneor more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as toencode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media may include wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared and other wireless media. The computing system 100 may alsoinclude a host adapter 133 that connects to a storage device 135 via asmall computer system interface (SCSI) bus, a Fiber Channel bus, aneSATA bus, or using any other applicable computer bus interface. Thecomputing system 100 can also be connected to a router 164 to establisha wide area network (WAN) 166 with one or more remote computers 174. Therouter 164 may be connected to the system bus 128 via a networkinterface 144. The remote computers 174 can also include hard disks 172that store application programs 170.

In another implementation, the computing system 100 may also connect toone or more remote computers 174 via local area network (LAN) 176 or theWAN 166. When using a LAN networking environment, the computing system100 may be connected to the LAN 176 through the network interface oradapter 144. The LAN 176 may be implemented via a wired connection or awireless connection. The LAN 176 may be implemented using Wi-Fitechnology, cellular technology, or any other implementation known tothose skilled in the art. The network interface 144 may also utilizeremote access technologies (e.g., Remote Access Service (RAS), VirtualPrivate Networking (VPN), Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Layer 2 Tunneling(L2T), or any other suitable protocol). These remote access technologiesmay be implemented in connection with the remote computers 174. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary andother means of establishing a communications link between the computersystems may be used.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk 150, memorycard 156, optical disk 158, ROM 112 or RAM 116, including an operatingsystem 118, one or more application programs 120, and program data 124.In certain implementations, the hard disk 150 may store a databasesystem. The database system could include, for example, recorded points.The application programs 120 may include various mobile applications(“apps”) and other applications configured to perform various methodsand techniques described herein. The operating system 118 may be anysuitable operating system that may control the operation of a networkedpersonal or server computer.

A user may enter commands and information into the computing system 100through input devices such as buttons 162. Other input devices mayinclude a microphone (not shown). These and other input devices may beconnected to the CPU 130 through a serial port interface 142 coupled tosystem bus 128, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as aparallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). In anotherimplementation, the computing system 100, the monitor 134, the screen105, and the buttons 162 may be integrated into a console of the marineelectronics device 199.

Certain implementations may be configured to be connected to a GPSsystem 180, and/or a marine electronics system 178. The GPS system 180,and/or marine electronics system 178 may be connected via the networkinterface 144. The marine electronics system 178 may include one or morecomponents disposed at various locations on the vessel. In particular,the marine electronics system 178 may include one or more marineelectronics data modules, sensors, instrumentation, and/or any otherdevices known to those skilled in the art which may transmit marineelectronics data to the marine electronics device 199 for processingand/or display. The marine electronics data transmitted to the marineelectronics device 199 may include chart data, sonar data, structuredata, radar data, navigation data, or any other type known to thoseskilled in the art. For example, the marine electronics system 178 mayinclude a paddlewheel sensor, a compass heading sensor, and the like. Insuch an example, the paddlewheel sensor may transmit speed data and thecompass heading sensor may transmit heading data to the marineelectronics device 199.

Conning Display with Laylines

As described above, the marine electronics device 199 may be used todisplay marine electronics data on the screen 105, such as chart data,sonar data, structure data, radar data, navigation data, or any othertype known to those skilled in the art. FIG. 2 illustrates a schematicdiagram of a screen 200 of a marine electronics device in accordancewith implementations of various techniques described herein. Screen 200may be similar to the screen 105 and the marine electronics device maybe similar to the marine electronics device 199 described above.

As illustrated, the screen 200 may display marine electronics data inthe configuration of a conning display 202. The conning display 202 mayshow one or more types of marine electronics data during a vessel'soperation, where the data may be grouped and displayed around and/or ona representation of the vessel. As shown, the screen 200 may include avessel marker 210, where the vessel marker 210 may be an outline of avessel. In other implementations, the vessel marker 210 may be agraphical illustration of a vessel, a symbol of a vessel, or any otherrepresentation of a vessel known to those skilled in the art. In oneimplementation, the vessel marker 210 may be oriented such that a bowportion 212 of the vessel marker 210 is closer to a top of the screen200 than other portions of the vessel marker 210, where the bow portion212 represents a bow of the vessel.

The conning display 202 may also include a compass scale 220, where thecompass scale 220 displays directional data transmitted to the marineelectronics device from one or more instrumentation, such as theinstrumentation of the marine electronics system 178 described above. Inone implementation, the compass scale 220 may be similar to a compassrose, with angle markings in degrees and/or numerical values of anglesillustrated along the compass scale 220. The directional data displayedon the compass scale may include a direction for true north, a directionfor a course over ground (COG), a heading of the vessel, and/or thelike.

The compass scale 220 may be visually integrated with the vessel marker210 in the conning display 202. For example, in one implementation, thecompass scale 220 may be displayed around the vessel marker 210, suchthat the vessel marker 210 may be centered within the compass scale 220.The directional data may be updated as the vessel traverses throughwater, which may cause the compass scale 220 to rotate with respect tothe vessel marker 210. In another implementation, the vessel marker 210may instead rotate with respect to the compass scale 220. The compassscale 220 and/or the vessel marker 210 may rotate so that the bowportion 212 may point to the compass scale 220 at an angle substantiallymatching the heading of the vessel.

In another implementation, a true north indicator 222, a headingindicator 224, and/or a COG indicator (not shown) may be positioned onthe compass scale 220. The true north indicator 222 may be placed alongthe compass scale 220 at a position indicating the direction for truenorth relative to the vessel. Similarly, the COG indicator may be placedalong the compass scale 220 at a position indicating the direction forthe COG for the vessel. The heading indicator 224 may also be placedalong the compass scale 220 at position indicating the heading of thevessel, and the heading indicator 224 may also display a numerical valuefor the heading.

The conning display 202 may also include a true wind indicator 230,where the true wind indicator 230 may be based on wind data transmittedto the marine electronics device from one or more instrumentation, suchas those of the marine electronics system 178 described above. In oneimplementation, the true wind indicator 230 may be displayed on orproximate to the compass scale 220.

The true wind indicator 230 may generally point towards the vesselmarker 210 and the compass scale 220, and may be oriented such that thetrue wind indicator 230 graphically indicates a true wind angle and atrue wind direction. The true wind angle may be equal to an angle of thetrue wind relative to the bow of the vessel. In one implementation, thetrue wind indicator 230 may be oriented so that its angle relative tothe bow portion 212 is approximately equal to the true wind angle. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the true wind indicator 230 may forman angle relative to the bow portion 212 that may be equal to aboutforty-five degrees, thereby indicating that the true wind angle isapproximately equal to forty-five degrees.

The true wind direction may be the angle of the true wind relative totrue north, i.e., a relative bearing of the true wind. In oneimplementation, the true wind indicator 230 may be oriented so that itsangle relative to the true north indicator 222 is approximately equal tothe true wind direction. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the truewind indicator 230 may form an angle relative to the true northindicator 222 that may be equal to about 260 degrees, thereby indicatingthat the true wind direction is approximately equal to 260 degrees. Inanother implementation, the true wind indicator 230 may change color asit approaches a target angle, as described in more detail below.

The conning display 202 may also display a target indicator 240, wherethe target indicator 240 shows a bearing of a navigational locationbased on the compass scale 220. The target indicator 240 may bedisplayed along the compass scale 220, and may be based on a locationprovided by a user to the marine electronics device. The navigationallocation may be a waypoint, a point of interest, a mark, or any othernavigational location known to those skilled in the art. The user mayprovide the location data in a variety of manners. In oneimplementation, where the marine electronics device displays chart data,the user may select the navigational location by using a cursor andmaking a selection from the displayed chart data. In anotherimplementation, if the marine electronics device uses a touch screen,the user may touch the screen to select the navigational location fromthe displayed chart data. In other implementations, the navigationallocation may be manually entered into the marine electronics device by auser or may be selected from memory.

Based on the navigational location indicated by the target indicator240, one or more laylines may be displayed on the conning display 202. Alayline may be a line extending between a vessel and a navigationallocation which indicates a course the vessel may be able to sail on onetack in order to just pass to a windward side of the navigationallocation.

In one implementation, the conning display 202 may display a starboardlayline 250, which may be a layline the vessel can sail where thedirection of the true wind is towards a starboard side of the vessel. Insuch an implementation, the true wind indicator 230 may point towards astarboard side of the vessel marker 210. Similarly, the conning display202 may display a port layline 260, which may be a layline the vesselcan sail where the direction of the true wind is towards a port side ofthe vessel. In such an implementation, the true wind indicator 230 maypoint towards a port side of the vessel marker 210.

The laylines 250 and 260 may be integrated with the vessel marker 210and/or the compass scale 220. In one implementation, the laylines 250and 260 may extend from the vessel marker 210, and may each point to arelative bearing along the compass scale 220. Thus, a user of theconning display 202 may be able to observe the heading of the vesselrelative to the laylines 250 and 260, and then may be able to adjustnavigation of the vessel to sail along either layline. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 2, a user may have navigated the vessel to sailalong the starboard layline 250. In such an example, the portion 212 ofthe vessel marker 210 representing the bow of the vessel may besubstantially aligned with the starboard layline 250 at a heading ofabout 215 degrees. In addition, the port layline 260 may have a relativebearing of about 300 degrees. In another implementation, the user mayuse a bearing of the COG to adjust navigation of the vessel to sailalong either layline.

The laylines 250 and 260 may be determined based on various types ofwind, such as apparent wind, ground wind, true wind, and the like. Inone implementation, a wind angle used to calculate the laylines 250 and260 may be manually input by the user. In another implementation, thewind angle used to calculate the laylines 250 and 260 may be determinedbased on wind speeds and/or a lookup table used by instrumentation. Inyet another implementation, the wind angle may be equal to the true windangle. As mentioned earlier, the true wind indicator 230 may changecolor as it approaches a target angle. In such an implementation, thetarget angle may be the wind angle used to calculate the laylines and/ordetermined using the lookup table, and the true wind indicator 230 maychange color as the true wind angle approaches a value that is equal tothe wind angle.

In one implementation, the marine electronics device may determine thelaylines 250 and 260 based on the navigational location indicated by thetarget indicator 240, the wind angle, and the true wind directionindicated by the true wind indicator 230. In such an implementation, thestarboard layline 250 may be determined by subtracting the wind anglefrom a relative bearing of the true wind direction. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 2, the true wind indicator 230 may show a relativebearing of the true wind direction of about 260 degrees, and the windangle may be determined to be about 45 degrees. Thus, the starboardlayline 250 may be positioned at a bearing of about 215 degrees.Similarly, the port layline 260 may be determined by adding the windangle to a relative bearing of the true wind direction. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 2, the port layline 260 may be positioned at abearing of about 305 degrees.

If the true wind direction indicated by the true wind indicator 230changes as the vessel traverses through water, then the laylines 250 and260 may also change. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the truewind may move in a direction towards a port side of the vessel marker210. Accordingly, the laylines 250 and 260 may change to reflect thechange in the true wind direction. For example, as illustrated in FIG.3, the true wind indicator 230 may show a relative bearing of the truewind direction of about 246 degrees, while the wind angle may again bedetermined to be about 45 degrees. Accordingly, the starboard layline250 may be positioned at a bearing of about 201 degrees, and the portlayline 260 may be positioned at a bearing of about 291 degrees. Inanother implementation, the laylines 250 and 260 may also change basedon a change in calculated tide.

In one implementation, the conning display 202 may display a starboardlayline history 255 and a port layline history 265. The starboardlayline history 255 may show the lowest and the highest bearings for thestarboard layline 250 over a most recent period of time. As shown inFIG. 2, the starboard layline history 255 may be displayed as a shadedarea surrounding the starboard layline 250. The port layline history 265may be similarly displayed with respect to the port layline 260. In oneimplementation, the period of time may range between about five minutesto about twenty minutes.

The conning display 202 may also show a calculated tide indicator 270,which is illustrated as an arrow indicating a direction of tide and/orcurrent relative to the vessel marker 210 and the compass scale 220. Thecalculated tide indicator 270 may also include a numerical value of thetide and/or current. In one implementation, the calculated tideindicator 270 may be positioned in the center of the vessel marker 210.The conning display 202 may additionally show a rudder indicator 280,which indicates a position of the vessel's rudder with respect to thevessel marker 210. In one implementation, the rudder indicator 280 maybe positioned proximate to a bottom of the vessel marker 210. Theconning display 202 may display additional navigational data, such as ina lower right corner of the screen 200. The additional navigational datamay include a name of an active waypoint, a magnetic heading reference,a magnetic variation value, and other data known to those skilled in theart.

In one implementation, the screen 200 may display chart data and/orradar data alongside the conning display 202. In another implementation,the screen 200 may overlay the conning display 202 over chart dataand/or radar data.

Operation

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 400 in accordance withimplementations of various techniques described herein. In oneimplementation, method 400 may be performed by a computer application,such a marine electronics device 199 onboard a vessel. It should beunderstood that while method 400 indicates a particular order ofexecution of operations, in some implementations, certain portions ofthe operations might be executed in a different order. Further, in someimplementations, additional operations or steps may be added to themethod 400. Likewise, some operations or steps may be omitted.

At step 410, the marine electronics device 199 may receive marineelectronics data. As mentioned above, one or more marine electronicsdata modules, sensors, instrumentation, and/or any other devicesdisposed on the vessel may transmit marine electronics data to themarine electronics device 199. The marine electronics data may includechart data, sonar data, structure data, radar data, navigation data, orthe like.

At step 420, the marine electronics device 199 may receive anavigational location. For example, a user may provide the navigationallocation based on displayed chart data by using a cursor and making aselection from the displayed chart data or by touching the navigationallocation on the screen 105.

At step 430, the marine electronics device 199 may calculate one or morelaylines based on the navigational location, a wind angle, and themarine electronics data. The marine electronics data may include a truewind direction and a true wind angle.

At step 440, the marine electronics device 199 may display a conningdisplay. The conning display may include the one or more laylinescalculated in step 430 integrated with a vessel marker 210 and a compassscale 230.

While the foregoing is directed to implementations of various techniquesdescribed herein, other and further implementations may be devisedwithout departing from the basic scope thereof, which may be determinedby the claims that follow. Although the subject matter has beendescribed in language specific to structural features and/ormethodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matterdefined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to thespecific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific featuresand acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementingthe claims.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving marineelectronics data at a marine electronics device disposed on a vessel;receiving a navigational location; calculating one or more laylinesbased on the navigational location and the marine electronics data; anddisplaying a vessel marker representing the vessel, a compass scale, andthe one or more laylines on a display screen of the marine electronicsdevice, wherein the vessel marker, the compass scale, and the one ormore laylines are integrated on the display screen.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the compass scale is displayed around the vessel markersuch that the vessel marker is centered within the compass scale.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the one or more laylines comprise a starboardlayline and a port layline.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one ormore laylines extend from the vessel marker and point to a relativebearing along the compass scale.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theone or more laylines are calculated based on the navigational location,a wind direction, and a wind angle.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising displaying one or more layline histories.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein displaying the one or more layline histories comprisesdisplaying a shaded area representing a lowest and a highest bearing forthe one or more laylines over a most recent period of time.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising displaying a wind indicator,wherein the wind indicator changes color based on a comparison to atarget angle.
 9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedthereon a plurality of computer-executable instructions which, whenexecuted by a computer, cause the computer to: receive marineelectronics data at a marine electronics device disposed on a vessel;receive a navigational location; calculate one or more laylines based onthe navigational location and the marine electronics data; and display avessel marker representing the vessel, a compass scale, and the one ormore laylines on a display screen of the marine electronics device,wherein the vessel marker, the compass scale, and the one or morelaylines are integrated on the display screen.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the compass scale isdisplayed around the vessel marker, such that the vessel marker iscentered within the compass scale.
 11. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the one or more laylinesextend from the vessel marker and point to a relative bearing along thecompass scale.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim9, wherein the plurality of computer-executable instructions which, whenexecuted by the computer, cause the computer to calculate the one ormore laylines by adding a wind angle from a relative bearing of a winddirection.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9,wherein the one or more laylines change based on changes to at least oneof a wind direction and a wind angle.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the plurality ofcomputer-executable instructions which, when executed by the computer,cause the computer to display the vessel marker, the compass scale, andthe one or more laylines in conjunction with at least one of chart dataor radar data.
 15. An apparatus for displaying marine electronicsnavigation data, said apparatus comprising: one or more processors; adisplay screen configured to display the marine electronics data; memoryhaving a plurality of executable instructions which, when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receivemarine electronics data at a marine electronics device disposed on avessel; receive a navigational location; calculate one or more laylinesbased on the navigational location and the marine electronics data; anddisplay a vessel marker representing the vessel, a compass scale, andthe one or more laylines on a display screen of the marine electronicsdevice, wherein the vessel marker, the compass scale, and the one ormore laylines are integrated on the display screen.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 15, wherein the compass scale is displayed around the vesselmarker, such that the vessel marker is centered within the compassscale.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one or more laylinesextend from the vessel marker and point to a relative bearing along thecompass scale.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the plurality ofcomputer-executable instructions which, when executed by the computer,cause the computer to display one or more layline histories.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 15, wherein the plurality of computer-executableinstructions which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer todisplay the vessel marker, the compass scale, and the one or morelaylines in conjunction with at least one of chart data or radar data.20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the plurality ofcomputer-executable instructions which, when executed by the computer,cause the computer to display: a true north indicator which indicates adirection for true north relative to the vessel; a heading indicatorwhich indicates a heading of the vessel; a course over ground (COG)indicator which indicates a direction for COG for the vessel; a truewind indicator which displays an angle and a direction of wind relativeto the vessel marker; a target indicator which shows a bearing of thenavigational location based on the compass scale; a calculated tideindicator which indicates a direction of tide relative to the vesselmarker and the compass scale; a rudder indicator which indicates aposition of the vessel's rudder with respect to the vessel marker;navigational data; or combinations thereof.